Year 2, Week 48, Day 4 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 48, Day 4

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of Philippians 2-4.

Today’s reading consists of the remaining chapters in Philippians. The Book of Philippians, which is the last of the four letters that Paul wrote during his time in Rome, is a letter to the church in Philippi is oriented around the theme of living life and pursuing ministry in the joy of Christ: “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord…Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 3:1,4:4). Philippians 2 points to the example that Christ’s incarnation provides for Christian humility and service: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:5-7a). Philippians 3 highlights Paul’s passion to seek Christ: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own….I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14). Philippians 4 is a series of practical exhortations oriented around experiencing God’s peace: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus…What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:6-7, 9).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading was Paul’s autobiographical sketch describing his relationship with Christ: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7-8a). Paul deploys the accounting metaphor of gain and loss to visualize what knowing Christ meant to him. Paul speaks of two ledger columns to indicate the radical change in his life concerning what is most valuable to him as well as what is of little value to him. Paul had changed around what he formerly had in his gain ledger column: “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Philippians 4:4b-6). But Paul moved his own notions of self-righteousness out of the gain column and into the loss column. With everything that he once had in the gain column moved into the loss column, Paul placed only one thing in the gain column: “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Paul’s life had radically flipped; he now is gladly counted as among those who, "glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). Paul had come to the realization that there was no sure future in self-righteousness; but there is a great future relying upon Christ’s righteousness.

In fact, Paul does not simply place his marks of self-righteousness in the loss column, he deploys a provocative term to describe how he now sees what he once so highly valued: “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 4:8b). Paul now regards his self-righteousness not merely as a loss in the ledger column, but as “rubbish.” Paul’s choice of words is often a word to speak of human dung. Paul is evocatively stressing that the worth of Christ’s righteousness and that of his own righteousness is not a close comparison. He truly wants Christ and the righteousness that Christ gifts to His people: “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 4:9). The righteousness that Paul experienced through faith in Christ altered his life.

So Paul’s conversion to Christ was oriented by, “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Paul presses further into the meaning of knowing Christ: “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 4:10-11). The greatest joy in Paul’s life was the joy of knowing Jesus. Paul is not merely speaking of knowing about Christ, but of knowing Christ. Knowing Christ entails more than intellectual understanding. It includes an interpersonal relationship and complete trust. Paul explains further what he means about knowing Christ. Paul wants to intimately know Christ to the point that he knows Christ’s resurrection, sufferings and even death. Christ’s resurrection, sufferings, and death are historical realities that Paul knew Christ experienced. But Paul is not speaking of knowing about Christ’s resurrection, sufferings, and death in terms of awareness of those facts of history. Paul is speaking of experiencing Christ’s resurrection, sufferings, and death in his own life. The very power at work in Christ’s resurrection is the power that Paul desires to be at work in his own life. But Paul goes further, for he must know that for such power to be at work in his own life, such power will be coupled with the depth of sufferings that Christ faced in His own life. But Paul would even welcome such sufferings, for he knew that in experiencing the sufferings of Christ, he would better know Christ, becoming like Christ.

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe